DR. JAAKKO KURHILA

ADVISOR

Dr. Jaakko Kurhila graduated from the University of Helsinki with MSc in Computer Science in 1997, PhLic in 2000, and PhD in 2003. Currently, he is the head of studies of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Helsinki. His background is in adaptive educational systems and collaborative e-learning. In addition to this administrative position, he leads the Agile Education Research group which focuses on computer science education. Dr. Kurhila is the President-Elect of the University of Helsinki Teacher’s Academy (2015-2016), an academy formed by the top educators within the University of Helsinki.

He also serves as the spokesperson in Finland in the area of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in programming. He is an eager proponent of excellence in education, and is a director for the department outreach center Linkki. Dr. Kurhila was Marja-Ilona’s Master’s thesis supervisor at the University of Helsinki. We are thrilled to welcome him as an advisor in the areas of computer science pedagogy and curriculum development.